One more illustrious and senior member from Dagar familly. Son of Ustad Allabande Khan, Ustad Rahimuddin Khan is said to be one of the most knowdgable one from the tradition. He knew Sanskrit and Persian languages and probably the first one to adopt the title “Dagar”.

Today we are going to listen to Raga Miyan Ki Todi (Alap and Dhrupad) sung by him.

A few days ago, there was a post on Mehfil-E-Mausiqi, Raga Miyan Ki Todi sung by Junior Dagar brothers Ustad N. Zahiruddin and N. Faiyazuddin. They too is said to have taken some guidence from Ustad-ji. It would be interesting to compare both the recrdings….

A vocalist from the illustrius tradition – Delhi Gharana. His forte was his well groomed, well cultivated voice – moving in three octaves flawlessly. He used to demonstrate this strength while siging Taans with great accuracy and speed. And of course his Bada Khayal is also a pleasure to listen to.

Second one, Raga Ahir Bhairav, A morning Raga. Vilambit Khayal Mora Jiyaa…. & Drut Khayal Garib Nawaz… And Jiyaraa Laraje… both in Teentala. Interestingly, the vocal support in this recordings is quite intersing and of course, the proficiency of the Harmonium accompanist, just amazing….Raga Ahir Bhairav 25:34

A disciple of Ustad Faiyaz Khan and Ustad Ata Hussain Khan – A great vocalist from Agra Gharana. His approach towards music was always to expand the Raga. Take any Raga-s and Ustad-ji would sing these Raga-s at length. For example Raga Malati Basant, Raga Raisa Kanada, Raga Maluha Kalyan to name a few – He could and would sing them for about an hour plus, on an average. He was always open to greater development of his music and so he was never shy to adopt something from other musicians or their respective styles. And almost always, he was successful in blending those so called foreign elements into the musical structure of Agra Gharana that he used to prefer and perform. And then the concept he would sing would be his own “Khayal”.

He was probably one of the last musicians who performed full-length, full featured Nom-Tom Alap before Khayal. His command on Laya (rythem) was also great which is visible (audible, I mean) in various pieces that are presented here. He was blessed with a voice which he successfully preserved and cultivated to suite his imagination.

He was never tired of singing because he loved his music. Once a mehfil was organized in Ahmedabad and the organizer requested Ustad-ji to sing without microphone and without Harmonium accompaniment to get the essence of music in untainted form. Ustad-ji agreed. The mehfil eventually turned out to be a whole night concert where Ustad-ji sang Nom-Tom Alap, Vilambit (Traditional Composition) and Drut Khayal (His own composition) in Raga Savani (a variant with Komal Gandhar) followed by Raga Jaijaivanti, Vilambit and Drut, followed by Raga Nat Bihag, Drut Khyal, Raga Sohini, Drut Khayal. As it was about sunrise, He started Raga Ramkali – Vilambit & Drut. In the end he sang a Dadra in Raga Bhairavi. Fortunately this concert was recorded and recently it has been published as a set of 4 CDs by Sangeet Kendra. A sample from these recording is presented to show his ability for a sustained standard throughout the performance and sincerity – achieving greater heights as the his “Khayal” progressed. Just a sample – an appetizer (respecting the artiste’s rights and copyrights)

A disciple of Ustad Faiyaz Khan and Ustad Ata Hussain Khan – A great vocalist from Agra Gharana. His approach towards music was always to expand the Raga. Take any Raga-s and Ustad-ji would sing these Raga-s at length. For example Raga Malati Basant, Raga Raisa Kanada, Raga Maluha Kalyan to name a few – He could and would sing them for about an hour plus, on an average. He was always open to greater development of his music and so he was never shy to adopt something from other musicians or their respective styles. And almost always, he was successful in blending those so called foreign elements into the musical structure of Agra Gharana that he used to prefer and perform. And then the concept he would sing would be his own “Khayal”.

He was probably one of the last musicians who performed full-length, full featured Nom-Tom Alap before Khayal. His command on Laya (rythem) was also great which is visible (audible, I mean) in various pieces that are presented here. He was blessed with a voice which he successfully preserved and cultivated to suite his imagination.

He was never tired of singing because he loved his music. Once a mehfil was organized in Ahmedabad and the organizer requested Ustad-ji to sing without microphone and without Harmonium accompaniment to get the essence of music in untainted form. Ustad-ji agreed. The mehfil eventually turned out to be a whole night concert where Ustad-ji sang Nom-Tom Alap, Vilambit (Traditional Composition) and Drut Khayal (His own composition) in Raga Savani (a variant with Komal Gandhar) followed by Raga Jaijaivanti, Vilambit and Drut, followed by Raga Nat Bihag, Drut Khyal, Raga Sohini, Drut Khayal. As it was about sunrise, He started Raga Ramkali – Vilambit & Drut. In the end he sang a Dadra in Raga Bhairavi. Fortunately this concert was recorded and recently it has been published as a set of 4 CDs by Sangeet Kendra. A sample from these recording is presented to show his ability for a sustained standard throughout the performance and sincerity – achieving greater heights as the his “Khayal” progressed. Just a sample – an appetizer (respecting the artiste’s rights and copyrights)

Another great vocalist from Gwalior Gharana. His style is unpretentious and appears to be simple but in actually it is quite complex and intricate. Some of his recordings are presented for us to enjoy.

To start with – Raga Bhimpalasi. an extremely rare find. Most probably an All India Radio broadcast. In this recording Pandit-ji has sung a Saadara – composition in Jhaptala.

Another rare find, the next recording is an All India Radio broadcast – actual broadcast recorded on a reel tape. Though this one was released as an LP record in 1971 (EALP 1366 – Raga Kamod & Bageshree Kanada) but the LP version is edited. This one being the original broadcast – it is full length.